Anritsu Enhances its Field Portable CMA5000 SONET/SDH Tester with Next Generation Functions

20/08/2006
"All-in-one Tester: The Perfect Tool for Field Engineers for Testing both Legacy and Next Generation SONET/SDH Networks."

Anritsu Instruments Company, a subsidiary of Anritsu Corporation, a global provider of operational support solutions for advanced and converged networks, announced today the availability of the Next Generation option of the CMA5000 XTA (eXtended Transport Analysis application) module. This provides new test functions for testing Virtual Concatenation (VCAT), Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS), Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) and Ethernet over SDH/SONET (EoS).

This option is supported by the existing XTA-2.5Gig modules and does not require a new module. That's why the XTA modules, equipped with this option, can test both legacy and Next Generation SONET/SDH networks while remaining very portable.

The option is able to manage both GFP framings: GFP-Framed and GFP-Transparent. Consequently, the XTA module can test VCAT groups used for a wide variety of data rates and not only for Ethernet rates. For example, Next Generation SONET/SDH networks that carry Fibre Channel 1G or 2G can be tested with the XTA (via GFP-T).

The XTA module also offers Ethernet Add/Drop capability. It is possible to add and drop Ethernet traffic from SDH/SONET signal for further analysis via external Ethernet tester. Users who already have stand-alone Ethernet testers can use them for analyzing Ethernet over SDH/SONET. Thus, all the tests done by the external Ethernet tester are directly done on Ethernet over SONET/SDH signal (ex: RFC 2544). The Ethernet Add/Drop capability is a smart and cheap way of extending the XTA capacities.

"For operators and carriers, the advantages of the evolution of SONET/SDH networks are obvious: efficiency, flexibility, new service revenues and more," said Arnaud Wroblewski, Product Manager, Anritsu. "However, for the engineers and technicians tasked with the installation, turn-up and maintenance of today's networks, specific test instruments capable of handling these different technologies are needed."

The new analysis capabilities in the CMA 5000 will enable operators and manufacturers to efficiently measure the performance of their Next Generation SONET/SDH networks. All operations will be tremendously simplified by the easy-to-use graphical user interface that is characteristic of all CMA 5000 applications. The "Next Generation SONET/SDH option will make configuring and performing tests on the XTA application virtually automatic."

About CMA5000 SONET/SDH (XTA) The CMA5000 XTA (eXtended Transport Analysis) Application module is a field portable SONET/SDH analyzer for testing networks from 1,5 Mbps to 10 Gbps. It can provide a multitude of test measurements including Jitter & Wander and Next Generation SONET/SDH and enables installation and maintenance professionals to rely on one compact solution. Thanks to its open architecture, the XTA can easily be updated by software or hardware and so protects your investment for the future.

General CMA5000 SONET/SDH highlights: • One compact solution for testing DS1/E1 through OC-192/STM64 • First field portable tester with Jitter and Wander functions from DS1/E1 up to OC-48/STM16 • Comprehensive testing of PDH/T-Carriers and SDH/SONET networks up to 10 Gbit/s • APS measurement with 125 ms of resolution • Round Trip Delay measurement with 100 ns of resolution • Automatical detection of network problems with Troublescan features